Confusion
by Kynodontes
Summary: Slash. Sirius starts contemplating his thoughts a little too often and James goes on a mission to find out why. He enlists help from Remus, who in turn enlists Lily Evans. A story involving lots of confusion and fluff. SBRL Fourth Year
1. Chapter One

_Disclaimer: Sadly, I'm not J.K Rowling, so, not mine._

_Enjoy_

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Chapter One

Sirius was struggling to concentrate on what James was saying. Now, this could have been because what James was saying - something about how pretty Evans' hair looked in the dim light of the common room fire - was starting to get old, seeing as the very same thing had been mentioned almost every night for over two years. However the real reason why Sirius couldn't concentrate on James was because his other best friend was curled up in the next armchair, having nodded off to sleep whilst reading a book. This boy, the intellectual component of the Marauders, was Remus Lupin and for the past month Sirius couldn't seem to keep his eyes off him.

At this particular moment - a chilly evening in early October of their fourth year - Sirius was distracted by the way Remus' school shirt had come slightly un-tucked from his trousers and was revealing the tiniest amount of skin on Remus' hip. This fact had bought Sirius to realise that in all the time they had known each other, Sirius had never seen any part of Remus' body other than head and hands, whereas he had seen both his other best friends practically in the nude. That was the difference between them; Sirius, James and Peter had always been completely comfortable strutting around the dorm in just their underwear, however Remus had always kept himself completely covered. Sirius knew this was because he was self-conscious of his scars that were left by his transformations into a raging wolf once a month but he also couldn't really fathom why they'd be worse to look at than Peter's worrying amount of flab, which had gotten consistently worse over the years.

Sirius could pretend he was only interested for this reason but that would be a complete and utter lie. For at least a month now- if he was truly honest with himself it would probably be longer - Sirius had been noticing a lot more about Remus than was really acceptable to notice about one's best friend. For example he had noticed how Remus' slightly too long fringe would always manage to fall into his face when he was leaning over an essay or a book, and how Remus was constantly having to push it back just for it to fall down again a minute later. Sirius had also realised how much he enjoyed seeing Remus laugh or smile, which - to Sirius' great happiness - was mostly conjured by himself. Something else that made Sirius' heart sing was the way that after a full moon - when Remus was lying injured in his private room of the hospital wing - only he was allowed anywhere near Remus and the others would have to watch from afar until Sirius could bring Remus back into a coherent state of mind.

In short, Sirius was starting to think about his friend in a completely new way. A new way that terrified him to no end.

Sirius had never fancied a girl before, like James and Peter had, but he had always expected it to happen to him sooner or later. Alas, now he suspected the reason why he had never fancied a girl before, maybe he fancied boys. This was a terrifying thought; being _homosexual_ in the wizarding world was beyond bad, especially if - like himself - you were from an old pureblood family. It was rarely talked about or acknowledged but Sirius knew the horrific things that we're done to people who were even suspected of being gay. So, naturally, he'd been denying his thoughts for a long time - longer than he realised - but now it seemed he must accept them for what they really were as he could not stop thinking about what the rest of Remus' body might look like and how it feel under his very own fingers.

He knew he could never tell anyone; it would be disastrous to not only his safety - and probably Remus' even though he could never share Sirius' feelings - but mainly, it would ruin their friendship. Sirius was terrified of losing Remus, he needed him, they needed each other, and so Sirius was resigned to just watching from afar and enjoying his thoughts and dreams late at night when he was all alone in his four poster bed in the dormitory.

Since he'd started realising his feelings Sirius'd had a number of dreams, some good, namely the ones where he and Remus ended up kissing, and some bad, often involving Remus being disgusted and never talking to him again. Sirius enjoyed the good ones immensely and he often woke from them somewhat aroused. He would feel ridiculously happy for a moment; would then remember that the dream's events would _never_ take shape in real life and finally, would sink into a depression only Remus - with his beautiful smile and wonderful listening skills - seemed to have the ability to bring him out of.

His relationship with Remus was completely different from his relationship with James or Peter. With James and Peter he would discuss pranks, quidditch and girls. Although he had no real interest in the latter, this is what his friends thought about. However with Remus, they would talk about everything and anything; full moons; Remus' family; school work; feelings; and most recently Sirius' family. Remus was the only person he ever talked about his family with. This was because Remus knew how important they were to Sirius; even though Sirius hated their beliefs they were still his family and they were all he really had outside of Hogwarts. He had told Remus how his family had kept him locked in his room all this previous summer because they were worried about who he would contact. He had also told Remus how much he loved and missed his little brother. Since Regulus had come to Hogwarts and been sorted into Slytherin, the previously close brothers had drifted apart to the point where they fought against each other. Remus had listened to all of this and comforted Sirius in a way he had no idea was possible and he had come away happy and, now it seemed, in love.

"Sirius! Are you even listening to what I'm saying?" James' irritated voice broke through Sirius thoughts. Sirius managed not to jump half a mile and instead stayed calm and replied easily.

"Course mate, what do you take me for?"

"Well, at the moment I take you for a guy whose been spending an awful amount of time not paying attention to his best friend!" James said indignantly whilst waving his arms about in an attempt to further his point.

"Okay, I'm sorry Jamsie, can you ever forgive me?" Sirius decided to employ his infamous puppy dog eyes to steer James away from finding out the real reason why he wasn't paying attention. It seemed to work as at that moment James cuffed him on the ear and resumed their previous conversation.

"So, as I was saying before you lost interest, what are we going to do for our Halloween prank this year? Any ideas?" James' eyes had taken on the particular gleam that was always associated with pranking.

"I have a few, yes, but shouldn't we be talking about this in private when Pete and Remus are around?"

"I guess so, but I don't want to drag Remus away from his much needed nap or Pete away from his potential girlfriend." Sirius looked around at Peter and saw that he was indeed talking to a girl and for once she seemed to be enjoying his conversation.

"It would be too cruel of us to take him away from his only chance at a snog. And you're right about Rem, he seriously needs his sleep." Sirius took the opportunity to take another look over at Remus and he looked so vulnerable - sleeping curled up in the armchair with a book in his lap - that a thought popped into Sirius' head. He leant forward so no one would hear what he said to James. "How about we use this time to work on our transformations?"

"Good idea let's go." James' face had lit up at the thought of being able to work on their animagus transformations without Peter as a hindrance.

They had started work on the animagus transformations a year ago after their first Transfiguration lesson on the subject; when they had researched it they had found out that werewolves do not harm animals and animals can often soothe the wolf and stop it from hurting itself or anyone else. As soon as they knew this piece of information they had set to work straight away so that they could keep Remus company on full moon nights.

Now, over a year later, they were slowly starting to make some real progress in deciphering spells and potions they would need to help them towards their first full transformation.

When they reached the dormitory they gathered all their textbooks and notebooks and started working. They stayed practically silent for the next few hours before they decided that they had made lots of progress and that they should get some sleep.

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_A/N: I hope you enjoyed it._

_Please Review, they mean everything to me! x_


	2. Chapter Two

_A/N: Here's the second chapter for you. This one contains James starting his mission to find out about Sirius._

_Enjoy_

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Chapter Two

James knew something was up with Sirius and he was determined to find out what. They were best friends, it's what they did; look after each other. It was his job, as best friend, to find out what was going on with Sirius and to sort it out. The only problem was he had no idea where to start in his mission.

After a few gruelling minutes of thought, James decided he should start by asking Remus. Remus was the person within the Marauders that all the others went to for advice and consolation, and James knew Sirius was no different.

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"Hey, Moons, can I talk to you for a sec?" James had come across Remus exactly where he had expected him to be, in a quiet corner of the library.

"Sure, what about?" Remus put aside the book he'd been reading and focused his attention completely on James while the latter found a seat.

"Well… it's about Sirius actually. I've been a bit worried about him recently… he seems constantly distracted… I just wondered if you knew anything about it?" James was always a little hesitant when it came to showing his caring side, and this was no exception.

"Well, it's got nothing to do with me!" Remus looked worried and James wondered, for a moment, why, until he started to reassure Remus.

"I never said it was! I just thought that… well, we all come to you for advice and stuff… I just wondered if you knew anything?" he asked again.

"Oh, sorry. Um no… he hasn't told me anything actually… he's barely said more 'Hello' to me in the last month," Remus looked thoroughly downtrodden when he said this. James could see that this was something that was bothering Remus and so he decided to include Remus in his mission.

"Yeah, he's been a bit off with everyone. I'm sure there's something bothering him, we should try and find out what," James once again began thinking of what he could do to find out what was wrong.

"Hey! Do you think it might have something to do with a girl? I mean he never talks about girls really… maybe he's finally noticed someone and doesn't know what to do." James had always wondered why Sirius never seemed interested in girls, maybe that had finally changed.

"Um… yeah that seems plausible," Remus once again looked miserable at this thought.

"What's up Rem? You look a little sad, it's to do with Sirius isn't it?" James leaned forward as he said this, in the hope Remus would, for once, confide in him.

"I'm fine James, really. I should probably get back to work," Remus looked longingly at the abandoned book on the desk. "Tell me if you find anything out, yeah?"

"Yeah, okay. See you." With that James stood from the table and went to find Sirius for a friend-to-friend, man-to-man chat.

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Sadly, James never managed to find Sirius and instead ran into Severus Snape along the fourth floor corridor. Being the slimy Slytherin that Snape was, James couldn't stop himself from taunting him.

"Hey, Snivelly, ever thought about taking a wash? Oh, how silly of me, of course you haven't." James saw Snape reaching into his robes for his wand but he was too fast for the Slytherin. James had his wand drawn and pointed at Snape's chest before Snape had even realised.

"What're you going to do, Potter?" Snape sneered at James. By this time, both had drawn wands and were watching each other intently.

"Well, I'm not so sure, depends on what comes out of your dirty mouth next." James took a step closer to Snape, cornering him against the wall. Snape's back touched the tapestry covering the cold stone wall.

"Don't you dare touch me Potter! I'll hex you!" James could see the fear in Snape's eyes as he took another step towards him. "You know she hates you, don't you Potter?"

"What the fuck are you talking about Snivellus? Answer fast, or you might just find yourself hanging from the ceiling by your ankles."

"Evans! She hates you, she thinks you're an immature and arrogant bastard, she'll never go out with you!" Snape spoke quietly but James could hear the venom in his words.

James leapt at Snape, and forgetting his wand, pushed him against the wall. James had planned for Snape to slam into the wall, however the tapestry gave way to reveal a secret passageway. James was used to finding new passageways within the castle but at this moment in time he could think of nothing but getting Snape to regret his words.

"And how in the hell would you know what Evans thinks?" James snarled whilst trying to get a hold around Snape's neck.

"Because, Potter," Snape spat the name as though it was something dirty on his tongue. "We're best friends, she confides in me, she tells me all about your stupid little stunts and how much she wishes you would just leave her alone!" Snape's last words were more of a command.

Upon hearing this James lashed out at Snape with his fists, showering him with punches. Snape managed to get a few back and soon they were in a full-blown, totally hidden brawl.

James had, of course, known that Lily Evans and Snape had known each other before Hogwarts - they'd all been in the same carriage on their first ride on the Hogwarts Express - he didn't, however know they were still so close. Just thinking about Lily Evans telling her secrets and worries to _Snape_ was the most horrible thought in the world for James. _He_ wanted to be that person.

Snape had just managed to gain the upper hand, and had James pressed against the wall with his fingers reaching for James' throat when they were interrupted.

"What is going on round here? Oh my Merlin, Sev! Let him go!" Lily Evans had just burst through the tapestry, and she looked livid.

Snape reluctantly released James and backed away, all the while looking intently at Lily. James pulled himself together and also concentrated his attention on Lily.

"Thanks, Evans, how about I repay you by taking you out to lunch next Hogsmeade weekend?" James personally thought Lily looked amazingly pretty when she was angry and couldn't help the question slipping between his lips.

"Shut up, Potter," Lily replied in a weary tone. "What happened?"

"Oh just Snivellus being Snivellus is all." James answered her question in his usual blasé voice.

"See, I highly doubt that Potter, seeing as neither of you were using wands. You must have had a big argument this time." Lily looked between Snape and James, but when neither replied she just pushed them both back out into the corridor. "Both of you, on your way."

Snape swept off towards the dungeons whilst both James and Lily turned and headed in the direction of Gryffindor Tower.

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_Reviews please_


	3. Chapter Three

_A/N: Here's the next chapter for you all,_

_Enjoy_

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Chapter Three

Remus was really starting to worry that Sirius had somehow figured out his secret. Sirius was being strange… he rarely talked to Remus alone anymore and Remus had caught Sirius watching him more than once.

When James came to talk to him in the library he had instantly thought James knew the secret too and blamed Sirius' distance on him. However James just seemed genuinely concerned for Sirius, as was Remus, and so he determined to help him.

Remus was however slightly worried that James' guess was right. Remus had known that his secret hopes of a different kind of relationship with Sirius would never materialise into the real world, however it still hurt to think of him with a girl.

James had just left the library and Remus had just decided that he was going to need someone else's help on the task. Someone that knew how Remus felt about Sirius already and had pledged to help him in any way they could. That person was Lily Evans and she happened to be sitting at the next table, finishing off some work. Remus got up and went to sit next to her. He lent forwards and spoke quietly, so that only she could hear.

"Lily? I might need some help…" Instantly, Lily looked up from her textbook and upon seeing the look in Remus' eyes knew exactly what it was about.

"What is it? What can I do?"

"Well… Sirius has been somewhat… distant for the past month. I had thought it was just in my direction and was worried he'd… you know… figured it out and was ignoring me. The thing is though, James has now noticed it and he's determined to find out why Sirius is acting this way. I'm going to help, because, if I'm honest I'm really curious about it myself… because, surely if he's been distant with _James_ it can't have anything to do with me…?" Remus looked at Lily waiting for her to answer.

"Umm… right. Well, as much as I _hate_ the thought of working with _Potter_, you're my friend and I promised I'd help. But what exactly do you want me to do?" Lily was literally cringing at the thought of having to be in close proximity with James without being allowed to hex him.

"Well, you're really good at analyzing people… I wondered if… maybe… you could see what you could deduce about Sirius?" Remus looked hopefully at Lily, smiling in a way he knew - for some unknown reason to him - she could never resist.

"Alright, I'll do what I can." Lily returned his smile and started to gather all her things off the table. "Are you coming back to the common room, Remus?"

"Actually, I still have a bit of work to finish so I think I'll stay here where I can concentrate. See you later, Lily." Remus got up and moved back over to his own table where he started up his work again. He was feeling much more content with the situation now that he knew had the help of his ally.

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When Remus did get back to the common room around half an hour later he found it in huge excitement. The epicentre of this excitement seemed to be coming from the chairs by the fire, the chairs usually occupied by the Marauders. Remus was idly wondering what his friends had done now when he realised the cause was not Sirius, James and Peter but Lily and James.

By the looks of things Lily had just shot a hex at James. Remus could see James clutching his face, trying to feel what damage had been done. He could also see Lily lowering her wand and her face was almost the colour of her hair in rage.

Remus moved closer and asked Sirius what happened this time.

Sirius jumped but managed to pull himself together and explained in an amused voice.

"As far as I know, Evans caught James and Snivellus fighting behind a tapestry - oh yeah, it's a new passageway, we'll check it out tomorrow - and as soon as they got back to the common room she demanded to know why they were fighting. And then James asked her why she was friends with a, and I quote 'slimy Slytherin bastard' when she wouldn't even talk to him. Basically that's all that happened and now here we are." Sirius did a funny action to indicate the scene in front of their eyes and Remus couldn't help but laugh at his antics. This earned a smile from Sirius in return.

"I suppose I best go help him," Remus moved off towards James, pulling out his wand as he went. When he reached his friend he started working on undoing the charm.

After a few intense moments, James' face is back to normal. Except now that the effects have been removed, Remus can see that he has a black eye.

"James, what happened to your eye? That wasn't from Lily was it?"

"No, course not," James then leaned closer to Remus so only he could hear. "It was Snivellus."

"How did he do that?… Did he punch you?" Remus was quite shocked. Snape wasn't the type of person to use physical violence. He always favoured his wand.

"I got in the punches as well!" James replied indignantly. Sirius and Peter had just come over to see what they were talking about so James consigned himself to explaining the whole thing in quiet whispers.

"James, you've really got to stop antagonizing Lily, it's not exactly helping your cause." Remus was frowning at James even though he knew his advice would go completely ignored. Sure enough, with Sirius' next sentence their collective attention focused upon finding and following the newfound passageway.

"So, James, tomorrow you're taking us down there and we'll bring the map and see what we can find."

They'd started work on the map last year when they realised they probably knew more about the castle than anyone else, especially about it's secret passageways. So they had started mapping out the dimensions of the castle and had soon realised that this would become a great aid in their mischief-making. Remus had even found some spells he could put on the map to make it come alive. They now had to have a password to see it and also, amazingly, it showed the people within the grounds covered by the map moving around on it. This meant the would always know if there was a teacher coming and it enabled them to make sure they weren't caught. The map however, still had it's faults. For one thing, as was made obvious by today, they still had a lot of places to find and put on the map before they could truly call it finished.

The four boys left the chairs by the fire and wandered slowly up the stairs and into their dormitory. The map was then brought out from under Remus' bed and the boys talked over it for a few hours before - after a collective yawn - they went to their own beds and went to sleep.

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_Reviews Please_


	4. Chapter Four

_A/N: Here's another Chapter for you. This one is from Lily's point of view._

_Enjoy_

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Chapter Four

Lily could not _believe_ Potter! How dare he tell her who she could be friends with! What did Potter even have against Severus, nothing, just a childish disagreement that had continued to escalate for _four_ years.

Having just shot a hex at Potter, Lily stormed straight up the stairs and into the fourth year girls dorm. She threw herself onto her bed and contemplated what really could have provoked such a fight between the young wizards. It was rare for wizards to resort to physical violence, especially when they actually knew spells that could do the job just as well if not better.

Knowing them, Lily decided, it had probably been something completely stupid that meant nothing to anyone but them. With that thought Lily fell straight to sleep.

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When morning dawned, Lily rose as usual and headed down into the common room on her way to breakfast. She was surprised however to see Sirius Black sitting in one of the armchairs by the fire, seemingly lost in thought. This was surprising because usually the common room was empty except for a few other early risers like herself, and she knew Black was not one of these from what she had been told by Remus. She was suddenly reminded of her promise to Remus and so went to sit down in the armchair opposite Black.

"You don't wanna let James see you sitting so close to me, he'll get jealous." Black was not looking at her, or even cracking a smirk, - as she considered normal for the marauders - he was just staring into the fire.

"…Sirius? Is something wrong? You don't seem like your usual… obnoxious self." Lily had no idea how to go about this, she had barely ever spoken civilly to Black, but she had to do it , she made a promise.

"Wow, Evans, you said my first name! James really will be jealous."

"I mean it, Black- Sirius, there's something up with you, what is it?" Lily leaned forward in her seat in an attempt to get him to confide in her. "I really am a nice person you know, I might even be able to help." Lily offered him a small reassuring smile, and amazingly it seemed to work, Sirius moved to imitate her position and spoke in a low voice.

"Well, say, if you like someone… that you shouldn't, what… what do you do?"

"Oh, right… well. Firstly, why shouldn't you like them? Are they a Slytherin? Because that's a stupid reason not to date them."

"No, eww, I could never and I mean _never_ like a _Slytherin_!" Sirius spoke the last word with a look of total disgust on his face that Lily could be definite he was telling the truth.

"Well, in that case, what _is_ wrong with you liking them?"

"There are some things that need to stay secret Eva- Lily. Look, it doesn't matter alright, it's not like there's anything I can do anyway." Sirius shot Lily a dejected look and slumped even further down into the armchair's cushions.

"Don't say that Sirius, there's _always_ something you can do. Please tell me, I'll try and help, I promise I won't judge you, if that's what you're worried about." Lily was willing to try anything to get him to talk, she knew she was right on the edge of figuring it out, she just needed a little help. "Oh come on Sirius, Remus'- wait we're worried about you."

"Did you just say Rem was worried about me? Oh god, I've been ignoring him haven't I?" Sirius looked truly troubled by this thought. He seemed to be pleading with Lily to tell him he done no such thing.

"Yes, Sirius you have, and he's very hurt about it, he doesn't understand what he's done wrong?" this last was somewhat of a question, in a hope he would finally confess his feelings.

"He's done nothing, he never could! It's me, I'm the one that's gone and lost control of his feelings and is about _this_ close from losing the most perfect person in the world because he'll hate me when he knows!"

Realisation hit Lily like a speeding train; Sirius had feelings for Remus!

"Sirius, calm down. It's okay… you like him don't you?… I mean as more than a friend?" Lily sat down on the arm of Sirius' chair and drew him into a comforting embrace. It was a sign of how much Sirius needed this comfort that he didn't push her away or make a joke.

"Don't ever tell him… please, I can't lose him, he's too much to me." These words were so reminiscent of the ones she had heard when she had figured out Remus' own feelings that Lily couldn't help but smile at the way things were sure to turn out. All she had to do was persuade Sirius to talk to Remus himself.

"I won't tell him, but you should."

"What! Weren't you listening? He'll hate me! I can't have that!" Sirius was looking up at Lily as though she had gone mad.

"Seriously, - and don't you dare make that stupid joke - you should tell him, I promise he won't take it as badly as you think. Does anyone else know how you feel about him? Potter, maybe?"

"No, I haven't told anyone."

"Well, maybe you should tell Potter as well. I mean he's your best friend right? He has a right to know, I'm sure he won't judge you, not once he understands." Lily could not believe what she was saying, she was actually complementing Potter, _almost_.

"Don't get me wrong, I want to tell him, I really do. I'm just scared I'll lose all my friends over this." Sirius really did look scared, his eyes were wide and pleading and his words had a slight stutter to them. Lily pulled him closer into her embrace and worked on persuading him to do what was right.

"I'll help, I promise. You just have to tell them. If I were you I would tell Potter first, then hopefully he can help you with Remus." Lily would never have thought this would be the outcome of their little chat, she wasn't, however, complaining. She didn't really mind having Sirius in her arms and comforting him; he was a much nicer person when he wasn't being arrogant and stupid.

"You really think they'll be okay with it? I mean even if Rem doesn't hate me, you can't deny it'll change things between us?"

"No, I can't deny it won't change, but isn't it better for it to be out in the open? Maybe you'll even get a nice surprise." Lily knew she couldn't tell Sirius the truth, she had promised Remus she wouldn't, but that didn't mean she couldn't leave hints.

"Okay Lily, I don't particularly know why I'm going to trust you but you better be right about this." Sirius still looked dubious but also somewhat happy about finally having let go of the burden of carrying a secret like that all by himself.

Lily smiled at Sirius before releasing him so she could head down to breakfast before the Great Hall got too busy. When she looked back as she was exiting through the portrait hole, Sirius was once again staring thoughtfully into the fire. She smiled inwardly to herself at the image of her becoming like a mentor, or _mother,_ to more than just one of the Marauders.

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_Eternal love and thanks to everyone who leaves a review._


	5. Chapter Five

_A/N: Chapter Five! Hope you enjoy it_

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Chapter Five

Sirius heard the portrait hole close after Lily and continued to stare into the fire. Maybe he should tell James; he didn't seem to be the type of person to shun him for something he couldn't control, he hadn't shunned Remus for his lycanthropy after all.

It was still exceedingly early for the marauders to be awake. Sirius was only awake himself because he hadn't been able to sleep for thinking about Remus. His head had been filled with thoughts of what would happen if Remus found out: would he hate him and never speak to him again, would he tell Sirius it was okay but then go about ignoring him anyway or would he truly accept it like Sirius wanted.

What Lily had said about him maybe getting a nice surprise, what could that mean? Just as he was losing himself once again into thoughts and possibility's he heard footsteps on the stairs and barely a moment later the unmistakable teenage gangling walk of his very best friend appeared on the last steps.

"Jamsie, what in the world are you doing up? You _never_ get up before ten on a Sunday." Sirius questioned his friend as he scrambled over to sit down in the armchair that Lily had just vacated.

"I woke up and you weren't there, so I came down to find you. Why are _you_ up? You're usually worse than me."

"Couldn't sleep," Sirius then made the decision that now was as good a time as any to follow up on his decision to tell James the truth. "Couldn't stop thinking…"

"About what?"

"Someone."

"You like someone! Who!" James' face had lit up at the thought of finding out Sirius' secret without any real work.

"It's complicated. It's different, there's nothing I can do about it." Sirius was trying to stall until he actually had to say the words out loud and face the reaction he was dreading.

"What do you mean it's different? How is it complicated?" James looked concerned; he'd obviously thought it was a simple crush and that Sirius was just a bit nervous.

"I'm not supposed to like them, if you know what I mean?" Sirius doubted this would be enough of a hint but, alas, there was always hope.

"Umm… wait are they a _Slytherin_? Mate that's just wrong!" James looked disgusted at the thought of anyone liking a Slytherin.

"Eww, why does everyone keep thinking that? It's gross!"

"What- who else has been asking?" James leaned forward in his chair. Sirius couldn't help thinking about Lily doing exactly the same thing not that long ago.

"Oh just Lily- I mean Evans." Sirius could see James' eyes flash with irritation.

"So now she's talking to you - on a first name basis I might add - as well as Remus and _Snivelly_. Why not me?" James seemed genuinely perplexed by this thought. Sirius, having recently developed a soft spot for the fiery redhead, decided on giving James some advice; his own problem could wait.

"Maybe you should try talking to her about something you're both interested in, schoolwork for example. And maybe stop with the constant stream of date requests."

"But how am I going to get her to go out with me if I don't ask her out?" James was listening intently to Sirius at this point; he looked truly confused as to why his tactics weren't working.

"I just think you should concentrate on getting her to like you as a person and a friend first. Stop trying to show off to her and just be nice." Sirius was willing James to follow his advice. James seemed to be considering it.

"Maybe… Anyway, we were talking about you. Who do you like and why is it complicated? And don't you dare lie to me, you know I can tell." James didn't seem like he was going to be distracted this time and so Sirius gave another hint; he still didn't want to outright say it.

"They're one of my best friends." Sirius said very quietly and didn't know if he'd have to repeat it until James spoke.

"Well, what's wrong with that- hold on, you don't have any 'best friends' who are girls… Oh Merlin… it's not a girl is it?" James was staring wide-eyed in shock at Sirius. If the situation hadn't been so serious, he would have laughed at the expression.

Sirius decided to be silent and let the realisation sink in; he'd come this far, there was no point in backing out now.

They were silent for around ten minutes. In which time James' face had slowly changed from one of shock to one of realisation and, if Sirius wasn't sorely mistaken, slight happiness.

"It's Rem, isn't it? That's why I keep catching you watching him… that's why you've been ignoring him." Realisation seemed to have hit James straight in the face and he looked proud that he'd worked it out. Sirius just nods. "Well, you've got to tell him."

"I know. I just don't know how… and I'm… scared." This confession was hard for Sirius to make, especially to his best friend that he always tried to be tough for. James once again unknowingly imitated Lily by coming and sitting on the arm of Sirius chair and awkwardly trying to comfort him. When he did this, Sirius came to the realisation that he need never hide anything from James again; they were close enough to share anything.

"Look, I'm not saying it won't be scary but I _am_ saying that there is no way that Remus will judge you or hate you or anything like that." James smiled at Sirius and gave him a pat on the pack.

"Thanks mate, I really hope you're right you know. The thing is I still have no idea how to tell him?" this last sentence came out somewhat like a question and so James started to look thoughtful.

"Hmm… I've got no idea… but I'll help I promise. Hey, maybe we could get Evans to help. You said she knows and she likes Remus; she probably wouldn't want us to mess up." James looked ecstatic at the thought of working in close proximity to Lily Evans.

"Yeah, she said she'd help!" Sirius was, at that moment, content. James hadn't judged him, rather the opposite, he was encouraging him.

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_I hate to beg but, __**please please**__ leave a review. Anything'll do, I'm not fussy. And I promise to reply to them all. They are what keeps me going._

_Thanks for reading_


	6. Chapter Six

_A/N: Thanks to everyone who left a review last week they were great_

_Here's Chapter Six_

_Enjoy_

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Chapter Six

James couldn't control the thoughts that were running through his head as he and Sirius finally left the common room and headed down to the great hall for breakfast. Firstly he couldn't stop thinking about how _obvious_ it was; how had he not realised it before? There were also many ideas floating around inside his mind, however each one seemed more stupid and detention worthy than the last.

He did know one thing though; they had to persuade Lily Evans to help them. If they didn't, James was sure the whole of _Operation Confess Feelings To Moony _would go straight down the plughole. So the first thing they did when they got down to the great hall was find Lily.

"Hey, Evans!" James called as he sauntered up to her seat at the table, Sirius following slowly behind. If James had cared to look round he would have noticed the look of complete exasperation on his friend's face. He did, however, not.

"Go away, Potter. Can't you just leave me alone for ten minutes?" Lily said in a slightly menacing voice without even looking round at him.

At this point, Sirius thought he best step in. He stood behind Lily's chair and whispered in her ear, "I've told him."

These three words had instant effect on Lily, she jumped slightly but quickly pulled herself together and replied with, "Meet me in the back corner of the library after breakfast." And with that she turned back to her breakfast.

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Fifteen minutes later and they were all huddled around the only table that occupied the very back corner of the library. This corner was always empty because it housed such books as _Mr Potts' Magical Self-Planting Banana Tree_ and _Mrs Windam's Lovely Summer Day_, even Madame Pince rarely ventured down here on her prowls of the library. For this reason Lily had decided that they would be safe in this spot, even from Remus, who practically lived in the library.

"So, you told him?" This question came from Lily and was directed at Sirius. It was the first thing that had been said at this table.

"Yeah, I told him this morning."

"And I'm totally cool with it, I mean I can't believe I hadn't realised before." James piped up. He was staring at Lily and hoping that this sentence would impress her. Lily obviously realised what he was thinking as she took this chance to lay down some ground rules.

"…James," Lily seemed to struggle to say the word. "for the duration of this… operation we will be civil towards one another. For example, we will address each other by our first names and you will not mention anything to me that is not directly involved with Remus. Agreed?"

"Of course, _Lily_." James emphasised the word in the hope she would recognise that he had listened.

"Good," Lily took a last look around they corner and when she saw they were still alone, she spoke. "Firstly, I know that however we decide to tell him, Remus will take this better than expected; I mean he's never judged anyone before, not even people who choose to be the way they are, so I know he won't judge you."

"How can you be so confident? I don't want to lose him." Sirius said in a dejected sort of voice.

"I just know, okay? Trust me." Lily looked into Sirius' eyes until he finally nodded in agreement. Then looking between the two of them, she asked a question, "So, do you two have any ideas on how to tell him?"

"Other than just screaming it from the astronomy tower? No." Sirius said and they all shared a short chuckle at the image the words invoked.

"What about you, James?"

"Oh, umm… maybe we could write it in his favourite book or something? You know so when he reads it he'll see the message?" James was questioning Lily whether this was a good idea.

"That's not actually half-bad." Lily looked at James in a slightly impressed way and James couldn't help the smirk that graced his face at that moment. Lily continued to look at him for a moment and then went back to thinking. "You know, that could work. I'm just thinking that if it was written down he might pass it off as a joke or… prank."

"Rem is extremely oblivious to the fact that people might actually like him, even as a friend." Sirius now seemed to be despairing over the thought that Remus wouldn't believe him, this was a good sign; he had come to realise that Remus would never hate him.

"You're right about that, mate. Took us ages to get him to trust us enough for him to admit he was- had a furry little problem." James had had to change tack rather fast so he didn't spill the beans on Remus' biggest secret. Sirius glared at him and James wished he could just sink into the ground. He couldn't however, and when he got over his slip of the tongue he realised someone was laughing.

Lily was almost doubled over the desk in fits of giggles, James couldn't help but enjoy the sound of her laughing.

"Is… that… what… you… call it?" Lily spoke between giggles as she tried to calm down. When she had succeeded she looked up and spoke again. "Remus has always said you guys were funny, but I never really believed it. I can't believe you call Remus' lycanthropy his, and I quote, 'furry little problem', too funny!" At this she once again broke down into giggles.

"You… you _know_? He _told_ you?" Sirius was staring at Lily and continued to do so until finally she was able to answer his question.

"I worked it out, beginning of the year." Sirius couldn't help but feel happy that Remus hadn't told her and that she had just worked it out for herself, like he'd had to. "And don't look smug, Sirius, I know you worked it out before me, Remus told me all about it. Once he knew I wasn't judging him, of course" They both gave each other a smile then before going back to work on _Operation Confess Feelings To Moony_.

"So Lily, how do you think we should tell him?"

"Well, I was thinking if we use James' idea but make sure that Sirius - and only Sirius - is with him when he reads the message, it might work." She looked around at them and they both nodded for her to continue. "If you're there Sirius then when he reads it you can look for his reaction. If he seems to be taking it as a joke or a prank you can just talk to him and convince him it's true. Or alternatively you can just be there to answer his questions."

"Wow, that's really good Lily." James was truly in awe of how his silly little idea in the back of his mind had become a fully-fledged plan at the hands of Lily Evans.

"Umm, thanks James, it was your idea in the first place though." Lily gave him a small smile and then they all continued working on the plan until, by lunchtime, it was in perfect order and ready to be performed the next weekend.

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_Reviews please!_


	7. Chapter Seven

_A/N: Final chapter everyone! It's sad to let it go, but I've left with the potential of a possible sequel at some point in the future._

_Much love to everyone who's read and reviewed this story and I hope you all enjoy the last part._

_I've also changed the rating on this story because it never ended up with anything deserving of an M rating. Sorry if I got your hopes up; maybe in the sequel._

Chapter Seven

They knew they had only until the next full moon before Remus would re-read _James And The Giant Peach_, his favourite childhood story. They knew this because for as long as they all had known him, Remus had recovered from a full moon snuggled up with this book, remembering how his muggle-born mother used to read it to him when he was little. This knowledge gave them two weeks to get everything sorted and organised.

Sirius, James and Lily had spent another afternoon in the library writing the note; they wanted it to be perfect. Soon after this Sirius seized his opportunity to plant it when Remus was busy helping Peter with his Defence Against The Dark Arts homework. He had snuck up to the dormitory and placed the note around a quarter of the way into the book; this would give James time to get Peter out of the room before Remus read the note.

They had decided not to tell Peter as they were not sure how he would take the news. Of course they would tell him at some point, it would just have to be after they had told Remus.

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Sirius was starting to feel really nervous now, full moon was only two days away. This meant that his confrontation with Remus was only three days away.

Everything was set up and in position, Lily had made sure of that, however Sirius was still a nervous wreck. He had barely spoken one word to Remus as he was so worried he would ruin everything by blurting it out too soon and in the wrong place. He knew this was a bad idea as Remus already thought something was wrong and was upset by being ignored, but hopefully it would all be over soon and Sirius would know, one way or another, what Remus felt about it all.

So Sirius had resigned himself to waiting, wondering and hoping.

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Remus felt very confused. It had been weeks since he'd asked Lily to help him with the Sirius situation and all that had happened was Lily had seemed to become really chummy with both Sirius and, amazingly, James. He had seen them going off to the library together and it seemed as though they were plotting something, he just didn't have a clue what it was.

Sirius had almost completely stopped talking to him now and whenever he tried to bring up the subject with Lily she just smiled, told him it was nothing to worry about and quickly changed the subject. James had been no help either as every time Remus brought up that he was spending time with Lily he just seemed to go off into a happy little world of his own.

On top of all of this, it was made worse by the fact that tonight was a full moon. He was always more agitated around the full moon and he was even more so this month. He just couldn't wait till it was over for another twenty-eight days.

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The moon had been an extra hard one this month, it was probably something to do with the fact that his emotions had been running high, along with his confusion over the Sirius situation. All he wanted to do now was curl up in bed with _James And The Giant Peach_ until he inevitably fell asleep.

The dormitory was empty except for Sirius, who seemed to be trying to finish their Potions homework that was due the next day. When Remus entered the room Sirius looked up and gave him and slightly nervous looking smile and went back to his essay. Remus wondered if maybe they were making some kind of progress before slipping into his pyjamas and under the covers of his bed with his book in his hand.

Remus was just starting to become truly immersed inside the world of the giant peach when he turned a page and found a piece of parchment folded in half between the pages. On the front of the folded parchment was the unmistakeable, beautiful, pure-blood script of Sirius Black, it said one word: _Remus_.

Remus was about to ask Sirius what this was all about when he changed his mind and flipped the parchment open and began to read.

_Dear Rem,_

_You've probably been wondering why I've been a little off with you lately. Oh, who am I kidding, I've been very off with you. So to start with I want to say sorry and to assure you that it is not something you've done._

_Okay so what I really wanted to say to you is that I have feelings for you. Oh Merlin you have no idea how hard that is for me to write, but it's true and you deserve to know. This is why I have barely spoken to you recently, I have been scared you would find out and hate me forever. However Lily and James persuaded me to trust that you wouldn't react like that and so here I am, writing you this letter. _

_As you've probably noticed, I'm sitting on my bed attempting to finish Slughorn's damned potions essay and waiting somewhat impatiently for your reaction to what you are reading._

_So talk to me, you can say whatever you want, just please don't hate me, I don't know what I'd do without you._

_Your Sirius_

Remus finished the letter and just say there looking and feeling stunned for a few minutes. He read the letter twice more before he felt confident enough to look up at Sirius.

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Sirius was sitting on his bed watching Remus, when Remus looked up he gave him a weak smile and waited for Remus to start speaking.

"Siri? Is this true? You have… fe-feelings for me?" Remus hated his stutter but Sirius loved it. He couldn't help but feel a huge wave of affection whenever it surfaced, which wasn't often.

"Of course it's true Moony, I'd never lie to you."

"So does this mean you li-like me the same way that James likes Lily and Peter likes Sophie?" Remus was no longer looking at him but at the floor. He was very self-conscious and once again Sirius felt a wave of affection wash over him.

"Yeah… is… is that okay? I don't really know how it happened and I don't know if I can ever control it but if you don't want me to feel this way then I'll try as hard as I can to just be your best friend." Sirius knew he was rambling but he didn't know what else to say and he just wanted Remus to say what e felt about it all.

"No, it's okay. I mean… I fe-fe-feel the same." Sirius could see the blush spreading up his friends neck and onto his face even though it was still tilted towards the floor.

"… Really?" Sirius couldn't believe his ears; maybe this was what Lily had been talking about when she said he might even get a nice surprise.

"Umm… yeah," Remus brought his face up and looked into Sirius' eyes. "I really like you, as more than a friend."

Upon hearing these words Sirius jumped up from his own bed and flung himself down next to Remus. He wrapped his arms around the werewolf and pulled him as close as was physically possible. Remus reacted instantly and hugged back, squeezing Sirius as tight as can be.

They just held each other for a minute before Sirius placed both of his hands on Remus' cheeks and looked once more into his eyes.

"Do you mind if I… you know… kiss you?" Sirius posed the question without breaking his gaze from Remus.

In reply Remus put his hands on the back of Sirius' neck and gently pulled him forwards until their lips met in a blissful kiss.

The kiss was electrifying and they continued until they were struggling to breathe. When they pulled apart they looked at each other and simultaneously burst into fits of laughter.

After a few minutes of shared laughter they once again looked into each others eyes and smiled.

"I guess we've got to go and thank James and Lily then."

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_Any final reviews?_


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